Richard Gandy

January 25, 1900 - March 30, 1953

Richard K Gandy, 53, Santa Monica attorney, was shot and killed in his office yesterday by a 65-year-old retired motion picture studio laborer.

And the life of Superior Judge Orlando H Rhodes of Santa Monica probably was spared because the killer didn't happen to encounter him. "Yes, I shot him," Charles McGarry calmly admitted as he surrendered to police in Gandy's office.

"I shot him," explained the stocky, gray-haired slayer several hours later when he still was unaware that Gandy was dead, "so I'll have a chance to go to court and tell the injustices that have been done me."

McGarry, whose home is in Venice, was referring to turbulent court proceedings that began in June 1948, when his wife, Mrs Winifred McGarry, successfully sued him for separate maintenance and later obtained a divorce. Less than a year later, Judge Rhodes sentenced McGarry to jail for contempt of court for failure to meet $20 a month support payments for his minor daughter. McGarry stubbornly remained in jail for 39 days before agreeing to follow the court's order.

The Los Angeles Times, March 31, 1953